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The 2012-2013 NBA Season begins on Tuesday. Here are my regular season win total over/under picks. The lines come from Bovada.com
New Orleans Hornets Over 27.5
This is putting full trust into Hornets head coach Monty Williams. I'm taking the over here knowing there is no way to predict how many games Eric Gordon will play. New Orleans won 21 games last year in only 66 games with less talent. 1st overall pick Anthony Davis will have an immediate impact on both ends of the court. They're not a playoff team, but the Hornets will be better than people expect.
Boston Celtics Over 50.5
The Celtics should be primed for a better regular season and Atlantic division title with the influx of youth added this offseason. Courtney Lee, Jeff Green plus the addition of veteran shooting guard Jason Terry gives Boston the deepest team they've had during the Kevin Garnett era. This isn't even accounting for Avery Bradley, who when he returns from injury immediately becomes their top on ball defender. Rajon Rondo is primed to make another jump offensively after an incredible postseason run. The Celtics have 52-56 wins written all over them.
Cleveland Cavaliers Under 30.5
I love Kyrie Irving, I think he could potentially jump into the top five point guards this season, but there isn't enough around him. Dion Waiters isn't ready to be a consistent contributor and relying on C.J. Miles to be your #2 scoring option isn't a good combination.
Golden State Warriors Over 36.5
Even with injury concerns surrounding Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry the Warriors have enough depth and talent to get to 40 wins. Bogut is a bigger concern than Curry because Jarrett Jack and Charles Jenkins are both NBA level rotation players. Behind Bogut it's not as pretty and probably means some small ball line ups featuring David Lee and Carl Landy. Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson and Brandon Rush is an excellent group of wings. This Warriors team fits nicely together.
Sacramento Kings Under 30.5
The individual talent on this team should win more games than this, but the pieces don't fit together. DeMarcus Cousins has the potential to be the second or third best big in the NBA after Dwight Howard, but he has yet to fully understand how to play offensively in the NBA. It's not a work ethic or trying thing with Cousins, it is just typical growth of a young player. He has yet to figure out that he has the ability to play more efficiently than his shooting percentage of 44. Until he does the Kings will continue to struggle.